I'm just starting to get the hang of S2000HD and I am pretty much always shooting in manual mode now.

I have managed to get some decent shots of sunset and so I thought I would give the moon ago. I can get it in focus, using a tripod, ISO 100-200 and messing about with the shutter speed and aperture. But all I get is the moon, no other detail, such as cloud. I know the ISO is low, but I don't want too much noise.

Anyone got any tips?

P.S. I'll post a sample when I have read the rules about putting pictures up.

The moon, particularly when full, is brighter than you think. If the moon surface details can be seen, then it is normal for everything else to look dim. If you make everything brighter to show up clouds, then you will likely lose the surface detail.

Here in India, around Feb (not really sure, I am very poor with dates....) the moon was going to appear reddish. So, I decided to photograph it. I have never really photographed the night sky, so was a complete novice there. I made these observations:
When I used a shutter-speed of around 1/200 seconds to 1/160 seconds, the moon looked pretty red.
Coming to 1/80 to 1/125 seconds, it looked more towards yellow.
At 1/30 seconds, it looked perfectly white with the craters visible.
At speeds longer than 1/30 seconds, the details were lost, and at over 1/4 seconds, it just became a pure white bulb-like sphere with a seemingly smooth surface.
Is the hue of the moon related to shutter speed in any way? I haven't found an explanation to this yet. And obviously and most importantly, the WB and colour effects, all were default. Even ISO was kept at 80, which is the minimum. I suspect the yellowish tinge in the colour of the moon might be related to the shutter. But, I would gladly like to know how!

I would set it to custom then, especially for those tricky situations.

You take a photograph of something white (eg paper / screen) and then when previewing the photo on the LCD, you set it as the custom reading. You will then have to remember to set it back to auto, or take a new white balance photograph, each and everytime the scene changes.

The white item that you are using MUST be in the scene. For example if I was shooting outdoors, I would take the white paper with me, and photograph it outdoors with me. This is mandatory so the camera can see what light you have.

1. Access the white balance menu (where you see the presets)
2. Select the 'custom' setting
3. Aim the camera at the white card or object
4. Press the shutter

COMPLETED should be displayed on the screen once the camera is ready

5. Press Menu/OK

That is pretty much itCustom Balance > Shutter > Menu/OK

If it doesn't quite go to plan, and "Over" or "Under" is displayed, then you will have to ajdust the exposure compensation accordingly, and try again until is does display "Completed" on the screen. Just redo the steps written above.

I use custom white balances and they work well, but make sure that the white object fills the whole frame of the camera. It is best to zoom in to the centre of the white card to ensure that it is all covered.